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from west CT

Are all of you nuts? I hate the super slab probably more than all off you put together.
And have traveled all these roads that are mentioned. Rt7, Rt8, 22, 8a etc.
I did a preliminary run on Sat. from Bridgeport to Dalton MA. 115 miles / 2hrs.20min. And was moving at a good clip ignoring the posted speed limit.
Rt8 is good until Otis MA. but than becomes to residential, 35 mph tops with traffic. Which will be heavy during the week.
Rt7 After Kent CT is OK, but once you‘«÷re close to Great Barrington MA. Becomes very congested.
Do not forget that the locals that live in these areas have no interstate to use. And in the middle of the day all the rural routes in CT, and Ma. Will be like Main St USA.
I have decided, and recommend that you grin and bare the interstate until you‘«÷re in VT. Than take some rural route that we nutmeggers do not get a chance to ride on.
WARRNING TO ALL: taking back roads the whole way will make for a very long day. And after 8 hours in the saddle, your judgment will be impaired.

west CT

No thanks to the slab

If you check my April 24 post, you'll see a route I recommend. Sure, you hit a little congestion around Great Barrington and Bennington, but hey, these are not major population centers, and the rest is nice and bucolic.

For me, early arrival is not an issue -- I'm not camping, and want to enjoy the ride.

GPS Map

OK, here is a map of the "Plan" as I understand it:

According to Garmin Mapsource, it will take the Cliff's contingency 1:40 to get to Great Barrington. Original plan was to meet in Great Barrington at 11:00 am. Cliffs group starts out at 9:00 am, so this should still work.

For those meeting in Winsted at Canton Cycle, it is a 0:48 ride to Great Barrington. So this group should be able to leave Winsted at 10:00 am as planned.

If we follow lcarlson's suggested route from there, it will take 5:20 to get to fairgrounds (not to bad considereing it is a 4+ hour ride by high-speed slab). So with minimal stops, we could be in Essex by 6:00 to 6:30 pm.

I am all for lcarlson's suggested route, as this is as much about the journey as the destination.

For those who want; I've created some GPS files in Garmin Mapsource of this ride. I have created 3 different formats, so pick your poison appropriately.

For those coming from other directions, we should be at the intersection of RT 11 and RT 100 at 1:26pm.

At RT 103 and RT 100 (Ludlow) at 1:47pm.

RT 4 and RT 100 in West Bridgewater (near Sherburne) at 2:09 pm.

All times are rough estimates of course so wait if you wish, or not....

Are any of you guys still on for this?

I am still planning to leave from Redding CT about 9:00 am Thursday. I'll swing by Marcus Dairy in Danbury around then in case anybody is interested. Should be at the intersection of Route 7 (Main Street) and Route 41 in Great Barrington about 11:00 (it's at the north end of town just west of the bridge over the river). If anybody's there, great; if not, I'll head up Route 41 solo. I'm on a black R1150R BTW.

Ride North

Originally Posted by lcarlson

I am still planning to leave from Redding CT about 9:00 am Thursday. I'll swing by Marcus Dairy in Danbury around then in case anybody is interested. Should be at the intersection of Route 7 (Main Street) and Route 41 in Great Barrington about 11:00 (it's at the north end of town just west of the bridge over the river). If anybody's there, great; if not, I'll head up Route 41 solo. I'm on a black R1150R BTW.

I've had a change of plans due to volunteer commitment so I'll be headed up on Wed.AM. I'll slab it to Bratlleboro then shoot over to 100N from there.

I am game. I live 10 minutes from Canton Cyles. For clarification Canton Cycles moved to Winsted and is still called Canton Cycles for those not familiar with the shop and is right at the end of the multilane Route 8. Go to the end of Route 8 and look to the right and thar she be...! Route 8 continues to the right and then a right again at the NCCTC college 1/4 mile up from Canton Cycles. Also make note on the rally forum about reflective stuff on your helmet in Vermont.

Guy's this sounds good, if you don't mind I'd like to tag along on my K1100.

Some of us made it!

Met with one other guy (K1100)..had a nice ride. Missed the folks in Great Barrington, (directionally challenged finding the school, arrived there about 11:10 or so). Fair amount of construction/traffic along Route 7. Did well by cutting over to 116.

Did it solo

I ended up making the trip by myself -- used the Taconic Parkway to eat up some miles early on, but it still took me almost 8 hours. A great ride, though. I'm staying at the Green Mountain Inn in Stowe, about to head over to the rally now --